Amherst PTA hosts its initial school year meeting!

Tuesday evening, September 11, the Amherst PTA hosted it's first meeting of the 2012-2013 school year.  Community members participated and offered valuable information and thoughts to the new PTA board.  Principals Gerry St. Amand and Porter Dodge were present and spoke about how they personally attribute to the excellence of our schools.  Mr. St. Amand had many aspects of how he assists his teachers and students; my personal favorite, how he shares his love for reading and storytelling.  Take a moment and ask him about Stephen King sometime!  Mr. Dodge gave a remarkable personal story that reminds us just how important teachers are in the lifes of their students.  Our teachers do help form the minds and hearts of our children; often times they are there in a child's time of need.

The PTA told its guests they recognize that the Amherst community is changing. Moms and dads are working full-time, schedules are becoming more restrictive, and budgets are becoming tighter.  They do not want to become another pressure in the life of their families.  What they do want is to be an organization that our town wants to be a part of.

The board informed those present that there will be two major fundraising events which will occur in October.  All other events will emphasize community involvement and opportunity, allowing each family to decide how they would like to participate.

It is also realized that free time is scarce.  The result, a new "3 for Me" program has been implemented.  This allows people to share three hours of their time throughout the year, one hour at a time!  "We have heard your concerns and we are doing our best to implement new procedures to better assist our families, teachers, and schools," stated President, Paula-Marie Passen.

Many positive changes will exist throughout the year, but the board emphasized that the impact of the community has been felt by the PTA.  Membership and donations have been declining and unfortunately this has affected our schools. Funding that had been readily available for curriculum enrichment is not there, and grants that had been readily available for teachers does not exist. The board has decided to take a step back and re-evaluate the needs of our teachers, staff, schools, and children.  They will do everything they can to provide the best possible enrichment programs for our schools and to build a strong and secure relationship with our families!